RCMPhttp://www.desmogblog.com/taxonomy/term/849/all
enLEAKED: Internal RCMP Document Names “Violent Anti-Petroleum Extremists” Threat to Government and Industryhttp://desmog.ca/2015/02/17/leaked-internal-rcmp-document-names-anti-petroleum-extremists-threat-government-industry
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/Burnaby%20Mountain%20protest%20Zack%20Embree.jpg?itok=eyxWuf9e" width="200" height="133" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">An internal Royal Canadian Mounted Police (<span class="caps">RCMP</span>) document (provided in full below) warns “violent anti-petroleum extremists” driven by an “anti-petroleum ideology” pose a criminal threat to Canada’s oil and gas industry. The document, reported on today by the <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/anti-petroleum-movement-a-growing-security-threat-to-canada-rcmp-say/article23019252/">Globe and Mail</a>, reveals growing concern within the <span class="caps">RCMP</span> about opponents of pipelines or fracking and “violent aboriginal extremists,” suggesting they have the ability to incite criminal activity across the country.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Yet representatives from Canada’s broad environmental movement say the document is </span><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/security-services-deem-environmental-animal-rights-groups-extremist-threats/article533559/" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">another example</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> of the Harper government’s efforts to criminalize legitimate civil dissent such as peaceful climate activism and pipeline opposition.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The document, a Critical Infrastructure Intelligence Assessment report from early 2014 originally obtained by Greenpeace, provides “intelligence and/or information” that “may be used to assist in the protection of Canada’s [critical infrastructure],” such as pipelines and other oil and gas infrastructure. In recent years, discussion of Canada’s </span><a href="https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/crtcl-nfrstrctr/nhncng-rslnc-eng.aspx" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">critical infrastructure</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> (<span class="caps">CI</span>) has shifted from a focus on digital and electricity networks to energy-related infrastructure.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The <span class="caps">RCMP</span> intelligence report suggests growing opposition movements against pipelines should be seen and treated as criminal security threats although groups mentioned in the report are quick to point out the document fits into a much larger strategy, led by the Harper government, to beat back pipeline or oilsands opponents.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>This is absolutely the criminalization of peaceful protest,” Keith Stewart from Greenpeace Canada, one of the groups named in the document, said.</span></p>
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<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>The striking thing is that the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> has identified climate change as one of the greatest threats to national security, yet here in Stephen Harper's Canada it is the people trying to stop climate change that are identified as the threat.”</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Stewart pointed out that in 2012, the Harper government called people concerned about climate change 'radicals' and 'money-launderers.’</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>And now we are being called 'anti-petroleum extremists,’” Stewart lamented.</span></p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/RCMP%20Critical%20Infrastructure%20Intelligence%20Report%20Cover.png" style="width: 640px; height: 455px;" /></p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/RCMP%20Critical%20Infrastructure%20Inteligence%20Report%20Screen%20shot.png" style="width: 640px; height: 377px;" /></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;">Screen caps from the <span class="caps">RCMP</span> report.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Stewart also pointed out the troubling “ideological” nature of the document. Its authors reference climate change as a “perceived environmental threat from the continued use of fossil fuels” that groups such as Greenpeace, Tides Canada and Sierra Club Canada have “an interest in drawing public attention to.”</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The report also paints industry opponents with a broad and extreme brush, calling them “anti-petroleum extremists” and relies on the </span><a href="http://www.desmog.ca/vivian-krause" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">industry-friendly research of conservative commentator Vivian Krause</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> to echo the </span><a href="http://www.desmog.ca/2014/11/12/convenient-conspiracy-how-vivian-krause-became-poster-child-canada-s-anti-environment-crusade" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">foreign-funded radicals line</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> first used by former natural resources minister </span><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/radicals-working-against-oilsands-ottawa-says-1.1148310" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Joe Oliver in 2012</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The report relies largely on publicly available newspaper articles for source material.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Caitlyn Vernon, campaigns director with Sierra Club B.C., said the </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">leaked documents “show that our government considers climate change a hoax perpetuated by environmentalists.”</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“What is truly ‘extreme’ is to radically change our climate, impacting the health and security of generations of Canadians to come. What is ‘extreme’ is to ignore the warnings of climate scientists and governments from around the world, to continue extracting and burning tar sands and other fossil fuels, to leave a legacy of extreme weather and food shortages,” Vernon said. “</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.389999985694885px; line-height: 1.5em;">Our government is leading us down a path with extreme unpredictable consequences for all Canadians</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.389999985694885px; line-height: 1.5em;">.”</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Among the <span class="caps">RCMP</span> report’s ‘key findings’ are concerns that “there is a growing, highly organized and well-financed, anti-Canadian petroleum movement, that consists of peaceful activists, militants and violent extremists, who are opposed to society’s reliance on fossil fuels.”</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Governments and petroleum companies are being encouraged, and increasingly threatened, by violent extremists to cease all actions which the extremists believe, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions,” the document states.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Violent anti-petroleum extremists will continue to engage in criminal activity to promote their anti-petroleum ideology.”</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The report is meant to provide critical infrastructure stakeholders, such as pipeline operators, with a “law enforcement assessment of current [critical infrastructure] protection issues.”</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The existence of the <span class="caps">RCMP</span> report lends credence to concerns that the Harper government’s new anti-terrorism legislation will be used to label pipeline opponents and First Nations as ‘terrorists.’</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Bill C-51 would give the <span class="caps">RCMP</span> and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (<span class="caps">CSIS</span>) </span><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/editorials/csis-is-about-to-become-more-kinetic-bad-idea/article22997008/" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">extended powers to conduct surveillance, something they call ‘disruption,’ or make arrests</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> if the individuals in question are seen as a potential threat.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The <span class="caps">RCMP</span>, <span class="caps">CSIS</span> as well as Public Safety Canada are all ‘</span><a href="https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/crtcl-nfrstrctr/crtcl-nfrstrtr-prtnrs-eng.aspx" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Critical Infrastructure Partners</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">’ in Canada. A Public Safety Canada </span><a href="https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/pln-crtcl-nfrstrctr-2014-17/index-eng.aspx" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Plan for Critical Infrastructure for 2014–2017</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> recommends increased collaboration between critical infrastructure partners and industry. The plan includes granting security clearance to oil and gas industry representatives so they can be brought in on sensitive information and secret intelligence.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Pipeline proponent </span><a href="https://docs.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/llisapi.dll/fetch/2000/90464/90552/548311/956726/2392873/2449925/2451398/2579142/C289-6-2_-_Province_of_B.C._Notice_of_Motion_%232_and_Attachments_-_Dec._05%2C_2014_-_A4F7Q9.pdf?nodeid=2578356&amp;vernum=-2" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Kinder Morgan recently cited ‘critical infrastructure security’</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> as a reason for withholding crucial spill response information from the province of <span class="caps">B.C.</span> in the ongoing National Energy Board review of the company’s proposal to nearly triple the capacity of the Trans Mountain pipeline that carries oilsands bitumen to the west coast.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Vernon from the Sierra Club said she is worried about the implications of the <span class="caps">RCMP</span> report in light of Bill C-51. </span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Will the proposed new anti-terrorism legislation be applied to anyone speaking up about the threat of climate change?” she asked. “Will we be labelled extremists and terrorists for participating in a rally to oppose the Enbridge or Kinder Morgan pipeline and promote more sustainable energy alternatives?”</span></p>
<p>The proposed legislation could have “frightening consequences for our democracy and for our climate,” she added, saying the bill raises the “spectre of surveillance and interference and potential arrest for anyone who brings attention to the very real threat of climate change.”</p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The <span class="caps">RCMP</span> report says the Alberta oilsands “are receiving singular international attention” because of growing climate concerns. Environmentalists using social media to attract attention to the issue “exaggerate the oilsands’ environmental footprint…[reference] reports that challenge the safety and integrity of the petroleum industry, and the hydraulic fracturing process,” the report states.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The report cites six separate incidents of criminal activity connected to the “anti-petroleum movement,” including the 2006 firebombing of a vehicle belonging to a vice president of the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute and explosive devices used to damage facilities belonging to Encana, the natural gas company at the centre of a massive legal battle involving </span><a href="http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/4971/Canadas-fractured-view-of-fracking.html" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">the contamination of drinking water</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">. No detailed documentation of these events is provided within the report.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Also referenced is the highly publicized </span><a href="http://www.desmog.ca/2013/10/17/mikmaqblockade-rcmp-respond-first-nations-fracking-protest-arrests-snipers" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Mi’kmaq First Nations blockade in New Brunswick</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> in 2013 to protest the presence of fracking companies on unceded territory. The <span class="caps">RCMP</span> response to the blockade was met with severe criticism after the arrival of <span class="caps">RCMP</span> snipers, dogs and tasers turned a weeks-long peaceful protest </span><a href="http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/did-the-rcmp-just-ambush-a-peaceful-native-anti-fracking-protest" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">into a battle ground</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">.</span></p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>I think that attempted criminalization of indigenous dissent in this country is nothing new,” Clayton Thomas-Muller, member of the Mathais Colomb Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba and indigenous extreme energy campaigner with 350.org, said.* “It is however new for the Harper government to use the country’s security apparatus to weave a narrative of terrorism in general into indigenous dissent.”</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>All of this is rooted in an agenda that really is about removing any kind of barrier to the Harper government’s economic action plan,” Thomas-Muller said. “Aboriginal priority rights are one barrier this government has not been able to remove through omnibus bills. <span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The Harper government is trying to use the security apparatus to criminalize First Nations and spread propaganda.” </span></p>
<p>He added that aboriginal rights are not the result of mere extremism.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>The aboriginal legal regime has been built up not just through dissent on the streets and out in the land, but through the power of the courts and through sophisticated education strategies that are reaching out to Canadians, like Idle No More.” He added that aboriginal rights are enshrined in the Constitution, through treaties one through 11 and by way of 170 Supreme Court rulings.</p>
<p>“The federal government couldn’t be farther off when it comes to on the ground concerns about the energy industry in this country and they’re using the country’s security apparatus to remove barriers. They are worried about the tremendous amount of solidarity in Canada.” </p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">A spokesperson with the <span class="caps">RCMP</span>, Sergeant Greg Cox, <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/anti-petroleum-movement-a-growing-security-threat-to-canada-rcmp-say/article23019252/">told the Globe and Mail</a> the police force has a mandate to investigate potential criminal threats, “including those to critical infrastructure and at public events.”</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">But, Cox said, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“There is no focus on environmental groups, but rather on the broader criminal threats to Canada’s critical infrastructure. The <span class="caps">RCMP</span> does not monitor any environmental protest group. Its mandate is to investigate individuals involved in criminality.”</span></p>
<p style=" margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block;"><a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/256291226/RCMP-Criminal-Threats-to-Canadian-Petroleum-Industry" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View RCMP - Criminal Threats to Canadian Petroleum Industry on Scribd"><span class="caps">RCMP</span> - Criminal Threats to Canadian Petroleum Industry</a> by <a href="https://www.scribd.com/desmog9canada" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View DeSmog Canada's profile on Scribd">DeSmog Canada</a></p>
<p><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.7268331990330379" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="853" id="doc_81519" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/256291226/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;access_key=key-7AdMKyHn46ysfHjVdr1x&amp;show_recommendations=false" width="640"></iframe></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;">*Updated February 23, 2015: An earlier version of this article stated Clayton Thomas-Muller works with the Polaris Institute. It was updated to reflect his current position with 350.org.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><em>Image Credit: Burnaby Mountain protest by <a href="http://www.zackembree.com/">Zack Embree</a>.</em></span></span></p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/849">RCMP</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5758">Protest</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6035">civil disobedience</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/19808">leaked report</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/19809">Critical Infrastructure Intelligence Report</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/19810">oil and gas infrastructure</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6577">pipelines</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/19068">protesters</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/13045">activists</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/19811">pipeline opponents</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/19812">Bill C-51</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14092">police</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/11954">surveillance</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/11955">terrorism</a></div></div></div>Tue, 17 Feb 2015 18:53:58 +0000Carol Linnitt9107 at http://www.desmogblog.comThe Wars At Home: What State Surveillance of an Indigenous Rights Campaigner Tells Us About Real Risk in Canada http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/11/02/wars-home-what-state-surveillance-indigenous-rights-campaigner-tells-us-about-real-risk-canada
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/Clayton%20Thomas%20Muller.JPG?itok=olgX5Cf4" width="200" height="150" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><em>This is a guest post by <a href="http://www.shiripasternak.com/">Shiri Pasternak</a>.</em></p>
<p>Recent revelations that the <a href="http://aptn.ca/news/2014/10/21/former-idle-organizer-unfazed-rcmp-surveillance/"><span class="caps">RCMP</span> spied on Indigenous environmental rights activist Clayton Thomas-Muller</a> should not be dismissed as routine monitoring. They reveal a long-term, national energy strategy that is coming increasingly into conflict with Indigenous rights and assertions of Indigenous jurisdiction over lands and resources.</p>
<p>A “Critical Infrastructure Suspicious Incident” report was triggered by Thomas-Muller’s trip in 2010 to the <a href="http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/the-view-from-unistoten-a-camp-that-stands-firmly-in-the-path-of-enbridges-northern-gateway-pipeline">Unist’ot’en camp </a>of Wet’suwet’en land defenders, where a protect camp was being built on the coordinates of a proposed <a href="http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/new-oil-and-gas-pipelines-could-pose-a-serious-threat-to-canadas-north-west-903">Pacific Trails pipeline</a>.</p>
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<p>The Unist’ot’en clan continues to hold their ground along these <span class="caps">GPS</span> coordinates today. Not coincidentally, they are members of a nation that took its assertions of jurisdiction to the Supreme Court of Canada in <em>Delgamuukw v. British Columbia</em> in 1997, establishing in Canadian case law the underlying proprietary interest of Indigenous peoples to their unceded lands.</p>
<p>This confluence of Indigenous proprietary interests with a multi-billion dollar energy sector has informed the development of <a href="http://www.desmog.ca/2013/02/06/surveillance-environmental-movement-when-counter-terrorism-becomes-political-policing">new security apparatuses</a>, mobilized to defend private sector investment and national energy market ambitions. As Public Safety Canada notes, disruptions to critical infrastructure could lead to “<a href="https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/srtg-crtcl-nfrstrctr/srtg-crtcl-nfrstrctr-eng.pdf">adverse economic effects</a>.”<br /><br /><span style="text-align: center; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The <span class="caps">RCMP</span> National Security Criminal Investigations (<span class="caps">NSCI</span>) unit currently focuses on three “critical infrastructure” sectors, among which are energy and transportation. The <span class="caps">NSCI</span> houses the Critical Infrastructure Criminal Intelligence Unit (<span class="caps">CICIU</span>), which runs the Suspicious Incident Reporting (<span class="caps">SIR</span>) system that first identified Thomas-Muller’s travel plans as a potential risk.</span></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Clayton%20Thomas%20Muller.JPG" style="width: 560px; height: 420px;" /></p>
<p>State surveillance of Thomas-Muller falls into a growing net of secret <a href="http://www.mediacoop.ca/story/first-nations-under-surveillance/7434">spying on Indigenous groups, leaders, and organizers</a> who seek to uphold Indigenous peoples’ internationally recognized rights of free, prior, and informed consent on their territories.</p>
<p>One form of risk mitigation to keep energy sectors barrier-free and accessible to the flow of capital is to induce First Nations to cede jurisdiction over their lands through the land claims policy and other “non-treaty” agreements.</p>
<p>It is no coincidence that the Department of Aboriginal Affairs appointed Douglas Eyford in July 2014 as the Special Ministerial Representative to review the first update to the land claims policy in almost 30 years. Eyford was also appointed the Special Federal Representative commissioned to produce a report on facilitating agreement with First Nations regarding West Coast Energy Infrastructure in 2013.<br /><br /><span style="text-align: center; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">But when Indigenous groups refuse to comply with such policies, pacification strategies like surveillance are put into effect to intimidate lawfully acting organizers and citizens. Keeping tabs on organizers like Thomas-Muller is one prong of a complex and powerful constellation of power between industry and government to ensure pipelines like Pacific Trails, and its nearby Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, will get built.</span></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/IMG_5865.JPG_.JPG" style="width: 560px; height: 360px;" /></p>
<h3>
An Army of Complicity <span class="amp">&amp;</span> Collaboration</h3>
<p>As <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/09/canadian-spies-met-energy-firms-documents">reported in The Guardian</a>, information sharing between the Communications Security Establishment Canada (<span class="caps">CSEC</span>) and dozens of oil and gas sector companies shows an unprecedented degree of cooperation between parties. Corporations have been meeting bi-annually with federal government officials since 2005 to discuss security issues around critical infrastructure such as pipelines. At the request of the Ministry of Natural Resources Canada, companies like Enbridge have even footed some of the bill for these gatherings, receiving high security clearance in exchange.</p>
<p>In fact, as Dr. Tia Dafnos explains, the <span class="caps">SIR</span> system was established by <span class="caps">NSCI</span> to facilitate the exchange of information and intelligence among law enforcement, government agencies and private sector critical infrastructure owner-operators relating to threats to critical infrastructure.</p>
<p>Dafnos’ doctoral research in Sociology at York University examined the expansion of intelligence sharing relationships among police, government and owner-operators. The <span class="caps">SIR</span> is a web-based portal where critical infrastructure owners and operators, such as Enbridge, can access information through the system as well as contribute and report “suspicious incidents” relating to their infrastructure operations. As she explains, “The information provided by owner-operators is analyzed by the <span class="caps">NSCI</span>’s Critical Infrastructure Intelligence Team to produce intelligence for both law enforcement and owner operators to inform their operations.”</p>
<p>She notes that what is significant about the surveillance documents concerning Thomas-Muller is that the initial assessment by the intelligence analyst concluded that no “national security nexus” was found. What pressures existed for a senior officer at <span class="caps">RCMP</span> headquarters to override this assessment?<br /><br /><span style="text-align: center; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Dafnos states that this raises serious questions about how criminal investigations are triggered in Canada. It also raises critical questions about how groups and individuals become targeted as “extremist” threats. She said, “The implication of this designation is that, as these documents show, a group or individual can be targeted for more intensive investigation and surveillance.” Surveillance, then, can escalate into far more serious criminal targeting and defamation.</span></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/IMG_5689.JPG_.JPG" style="width: 560px; height: 373px;" /></p>
<h3>
Indigenous Rights</h3>
<p>The difference between other environmental activists and Indigenous peoples being monitored are the particular legal and historical rights associated with Indigenous relationships to the land.</p>
<p>When Indigenous assertions of jurisdiction over their lands are characterized as threats to critical infrastructure, the state is likely hazarding a claim over disputed lands. These sweeping state powers blatantly contradict recent Supreme Court of Canada decisions on Aboriginal rights and title.</p>
<p>As Thomas-Muller declares, “These movements, like the Unist’ot’en camp of Wet’suwet’en land defenders, are acting in defense of their jurisdiction. Since these are disputed territories, Canada is bringing in its intelligence agencies and army to clear us out. But the courts are delivering more clarity on these issues of territory, and our rights to unceded and treaty territories are much greater than the government lets on. They are still acting like cowboys, when those days should be long over.”</p>
<p>He finds particular issue with the hypocrisy of calling this surveillance necessary for national security. “Our movements are about justice,” he said. “To criminalize Indigenous dissent, then, is to repress Indigenous rights in Canada, and our responsibilities to protect the land. We are transparent, open, base-driven movements that take a non-violent, peaceful direct action approach.”</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>The state is criminalizing Indigenous peoples who are acting within their right to exercise jurisdiction over their lands. This is an abuse of democracy. It is clearly about providing a right-of-way for the mining and energy sector.”</p>
<h3>
The new anti-terrorism legislation and Indigenous rights</h3>
<p>Dr. Tia Dafnos, who has written extensively about the criminalization of Indigenous dissent, finds chilling the proposed anti-terrorism legislation, as wells as calls for further increases in police and intelligence powers in the wake of the shootings at Parliament Hill.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>This is significant in light of recent proposals to increase the investigative powers of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (<span class="caps">CSIS</span>) as Indigenous activism has long been a matter of interest to the <span class="caps">RCMP</span>, <span class="caps">CSIS</span> and the Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre. Although the recent proposal to increase <span class="caps">CSIS</span> powers has been couched in terms of addressing the ‘radicalization threat,’ investigative powers are not issue-specific once they are introduced.”</p>
<p>She notes that while the full extent of the bill has not been released, the designation of groups like the <a href="http://www.ienearth.org/">Indigenous Environmental Network</a> (that Thomas-Muller worked for in 2010 at the time of the <span class="caps">RCMP</span> report) as “extremist” could make them susceptible to new investigative powers.</p>
<p>What should concern Canadians is how the concept of ‘national security’ is being hijacked to promote an energy agenda that promotes economic uncertainty, ecological risk, and the violation of Indigenous rights.<br /><br /><span style="text-align: center; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">These are the wars at home and ordinary citizens have suddenly found themselves thrust onto the frontlines.</span></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/IMG_5928.JPG_.JPG" style="width: 560px; height: 373px;" /></p>
<p><em>Shiri Pasternak is a writer and researcher based in Toronto and a Post Doctoral Fellow at Columbia University. She is an organizer with the <a href="http://www.defendersoftheland.org">Defenders of the Land</a> network and the <a href="http://anticolonialcommittee.org/">Anti-Colonial Committee of the Law Union of Ontario</a>. Find more of her writing at <a href="http://www.shiripasternak.com/">ShiriPasternak.com</a>.</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18731">Clayton Thomas-Muller</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/16894">indigenous rights</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/849">RCMP</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14164">spying</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/canada">canada</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/11954">surveillance</a></div></div></div>Sun, 02 Nov 2014 14:00:00 +0000Guest8715 at http://www.desmogblog.comTerror is in the Eye of the Beholder: Alberta’s Counterterrorism Unit to Protect Oil and Gas Industry http://www.desmogblog.com/terror-eye-beholder-alberta-s-counterterrorism-unit-protect-oil-and-gas-industry
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/Picture%202_6.png?itok=6tNqwfAF" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>In January, during the week before Canada’s federal hearing on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline,<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/friends-benefits-harper-government-ethicaloil-org-and-sun-media-connection"> the Harper government and Ethical Oil Institute launched an unprecedented attack on environmental organizations</a> opposed to the pipeline and accelerated expansion of the tar sands. Resurrecting Cold War-style ‘terrorist’ rhetoric, conservative politicians like Natural Resources Minister<a href="http://www.joeoliver.ca/news/an-open-letter-from-the-honourable-joe-oliver-minister-of-natural-resources-on-canada%E2%80%99s-commitment-to-diversify-our-energy-markets-and-the-need-to-further-streamline-the-regulatory-process/"> Joe Oliver referred to prominent environmental organizations as “radical groups”</a> threatening “to hijack our regulatory system to achieve their radical ideological agenda” while using “funding from foreign special interests groups to undermine Canada’s national economic interest.”</p>
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The government and Ethical Oil singled out environmental organizations like the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/02/29/pol-senate-foreign-charitable-donations.html">Sierra Club</a>, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/05/10/pol-forest-ethics-advocacy-oilsands.html">ForestEthics</a>, and the <a href="http://www.vancouverobserver.com/sustainability/2012/01/03/tory-linked-ethical-oil-website-slams-canadian-enviros-over-foreign">Pembina Institute</a>, in an orchestrated effort to undermine the credibility of pipeline opponents and to cast doubt on their intentions for the Enbridge Pipeline hearings. </div>
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The rhetorical campaign against these alleged ‘environmental extremists’ moved from propaganda to policy last week when the <a href="http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/news-nouvelles/2012/06-06-inset-eisn-eng.htm"><span class="caps">RCMP</span> announced the creation of a new counterterrorism unit in Alberta</a>, designed to protect Canada’s energy infrastructure from so-called ‘security threats.’</div>
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<strong>Counterterrorism in Alberta</strong></div>
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The unit, called the K Division of Canada’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (<span class="caps">INSET</span>), is part of an expanding National Security Criminal Investigations Program designed to “prevent, detect, deny and respond to criminal threats to Canada’s national security,” according to an <span class="caps">RCMP</span> <a href="http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/news-nouvelles/2012/06-06-inset-eisn-eng.htm">press release</a>. </div>
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Alberta’s K Division is the only <span class="caps">INSET</span> unit created since the program’s initial groups were established in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in the United States. The unit consists of <span class="caps">RCMP</span> officers, the Edmonton Police Services, the Calgary Police Services, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.</div>
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<a href="http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/news-nouvelles/2012/06-06-inset-eisn-eng.htm">According to <span class="caps">RCMP</span> Assistant Commissioner Marianne Ryan</a>, Criminal Operations Officer for the unit, “all law enforcement agencies in Alberta have an important role to play in preserving Canada’s national security.” </div>
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“The establishment of an <span class="caps">INSET</span> team will enable the <span class="caps">RCMP</span> and our policing partners in Alberta to work more collaboratively towards the detection of criminal activity in this province that has the potential to impact security,” she <a href="http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/news-nouvelles/2012/06-06-inset-eisn-eng.htm">added</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/ottawa-launches-alberta-counterterrorism-unit/article4236422/?cmpid=rss1">As the Globe and Mail reported on Wednesday</a>, the <span class="caps">RCMP</span> would not say if the unit was created in response to specific threats or if it would focus its attention on specific portions of the province’s energy infrastructure.<br /><br />
However Greg Cox, media relations for the <span class="caps">RCMP</span> in Ottawa, did <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/ottawa-launches-alberta-counterterrorism-unit/article4236422/?cmpid=rss1">tell the Globe and Mail</a> that there is “no indication that the threat level is higher” in Alberta, adding, “as in any part of the country, we need to remain vigilant.”</div>
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The <a href="http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/news-nouvelles/2012/06-06-inset-eisn-eng.htm"><span class="caps">RCMP</span> states</a> the creation of Alberta’s <span class="caps">INSET</span> was “prompted by factors such as a growing population, a strong economy supported by the province’s natural resources and the need to protect critical infrastructure.”</div>
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<strong>The Creation of “Terror Identities”</strong></div>
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One month after the slanderous attacks against Canada’s environmental groups began in January, <a href="http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/media/nr/2012/nr20120209-eng.aspx?rss=false">the Harper government released their new Counter-Terrorism Strategy </a>which <a href="http://www.vancouverobserver.com/sustainability/2012/02/10/are-canadian-environmentalists-terrorist-threat?page=0,0">listed ‘environmentalism’ as a domestic terrorist concern</a>. The Strategy, <a href="http://www.vancouverobserver.com/sustainability/2012/02/10/are-canadian-environmentalists-terrorist-threat?page=0,0">according to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews</a>, was intended to “promote an open discussion with Canadians on the threats we face.” </div>
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Yet members of the environmental community saw this as another strategic move to silence, discredit and threaten environmental voices.</div>
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The report <a href="http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/ns/2012-cts-eng.aspx#top_of_page">states</a> that “low-level violence by domestic issue-based groups remains a reality in Canada. Such extremism tends to be based on grievances – real or perceived – revolving around the promotion of various causes such as animal rights, white supremacy, environmentalism and anti-capitalism.”</div>
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Within the parameters of Canada’s new Counter-Terrorism Strategy, the kind of pipeline or tar sands development opposition the government faces can be labeled environmental extremism and thus considered a domestic terrorist threat. </div>
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This kind of draconian strategy is designed to not only suppress terrorism, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10439463.2011.605131">according to sociologists Jeffrey Monaghan and Kevin Walby</a>, but is equally designed to legitimize surveillance and suppression of social movements. </div>
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In a <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10439463.2011.605131">recently published article in the journal <em>Policing and Society</em></a>, Monaghan and Walby describe how the Canadian government has “blurred the categories of terrorism, extremism and activism” together under what they call an “aggregate threat matrix.”</div>
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In their paper, entitled <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10439463.2011.605131">“Making Up ‘Terror Identities’”</a>, the authors describe the production of categories under which the government identifies potential security threats. Analyzing 25 classified reports from Canadian policing and intelligence agencies, gained through Access to Information requests, they uncovered the emergence of a new class of domestic threat in the country: Multi Issue Extremism (<span class="caps">MIE</span>). </div>
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Moving to counteract <span class="caps">MIE</span>, the Canadian government has expanded their early terrorist concerns with “financial security and Al-Queda-inspired terror groups” to include “activist groups, indigenous groups, environmentalists and others who are publicly critical of government policy.”</div>
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Monaghan and Walby suggest that the government’s increasing concern with <span class="caps">MIE</span> is responsible for transforming what constitutes a ‘perceived threat’ in the country, leading to “slippages and inconsistencies of threat categories.”<br /><br />
For this reason, the government has created its own cause to cast the terrorism net wider than in previous times. </div>
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As Monaghan and Walby describe the process, once a group is identified as a ‘domestic security concern’ the government establishes special task forces or “intelligence clusters” (like <span class="caps">INSET</span>) that engage in the construction of “terror identities.” </div>
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By circulating information between agencies like the <span class="caps">RCMP</span>, <span class="caps">CSIS</span>, other government agencies and the mass media, these ‘clusters’ construct the perception of a threat, lending it a certain ‘facticity.’ Once the ‘terror identity’ gains currency it is short work for these agencies to justify “domestic spying campaigns that target grassroots social movements under the statutory responsibilities of Canadian law.”</div>
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How much more clearly could the attack on Canada's environmental and First Nation groups be framed? </div>
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<br /><strong>Surveillance of Tar Sands Opposition?</strong></div>
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The creation of Alberta’s counterterrorism unit is an anticipated step in this spy-and-suppress process, as Monaghan describes it.</div>
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“It is very much in line with the trend of committing more and more national security and counter-terrorism resources without a corresponding basis in any kind of particular threats,” <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/ottawa-launches-alberta-counterterrorism-unit/article4236422/?cmpid=rss1">he told the Globe and Mail</a>.</div>
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Even <span class="caps">RCMP</span> Assistant Commissioner Gilles Michaud <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/06/06/alberta-counter-terror-unit-set-up-to-protect-the-oil-sands-by-federal-tories/">agrees that there is no particular threat to respond to</a>, although, given the oil and gas boom in Alberta, “one would be led to believe that there is an increased threat to the infrastructure.” </div>
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“We are basically looking at any individuals or groups that pose a threat to critical infrastructure, to our economy, to our safety that is based on either religious, political or ideological goals,” he<a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/06/06/alberta-counter-terror-unit-set-up-to-protect-the-oil-sands-by-federal-tories/"> said</a>.</div>
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Michaud suggested the unit was not created to spy on those opposed to the tar sands or its supporting pipelines, <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/06/06/alberta-counter-terror-unit-set-up-to-protect-the-oil-sands-by-federal-tories/">telling the National Post </a>that “there has to be violence attached to their activities in order for us to pay attention to them.”</div>
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But he followed this statement by <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/06/06/alberta-counter-terror-unit-set-up-to-protect-the-oil-sands-by-federal-tories/">adding</a>: “That being said, in our role of preventing these threats from occurring, it is important that intelligence is collected against the activities of groups before they become violent.”</div>
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<br /><em>Image Credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/6863477149/in/set-72157629270319399">Kris Krug</a></em></div>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/pembina-institute">pembina institute</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/oil-sands">oil sands</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/666">Sierra Club</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/849">RCMP</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2632">tar sands</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/3694">CSIS</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5599">ethical oil</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6430">Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6933">terrorist</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8088">Ethical Oil Institute</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8119">Harper Government</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8216">ideology</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8536">Vic Toews</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8924">Environmental Extremists</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9374">Alberta Counterterrorism Unit</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9375">INSET</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9376">K Division</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9377">Making Up &#039;Terror Identities&#039;</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9378">Natural Resources Minister Joe Oilver</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9379">foreign funded radicals</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9380">ForestEthics</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9381">Integrated National Security Enforcement Team</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9382">Edmonton Police Service</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9383">Calgary Police Service</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9384">Canada order Services Agency</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9385">RCMP Assistant Commissioner Marianne Ryan</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9386">Greg Cox</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9387">Policing and Society</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9388">Jeffrey Monaghan</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9389">Kevin Walby</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9390">Multi Issue Extremism</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9391">Gilles Michaud</a></div></div></div>Fri, 15 Jun 2012 19:56:51 +0000Carol Linnitt6361 at http://www.desmogblog.comHighway dustup in British Columbia highlights gap between talk and action on climate changehttp://www.desmogblog.com/highway-dustup-in-british-columbia-highlights-gap-between-talk-and-action-on-climate-change
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p class="MsoNormal">One only has to go a few miles northwest of B.C.’s capital in Victoria to see <a href="http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/capital_van_isl/story.html?id=6007725e-07f2-4171-8f8e-3eb3b1078057">what governments are really doing </a> about global warming. </p><p class="MsoNormal">While provincial Finance Minister Carole Taylor was finalizing her <a href="http://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2008/speech/">“go green” budget,</a> governments at the federal, provincial and local level were taking steps that guarantee sprawl, gridlock and greenhouse emissions will continue to spiral.</p><p>Since April, 2007, peaceful protesters have tried to save an area of old-growth forest from becoming a highway interchange that would give developers easier access to a mountain, where they mean to replace a natural forest with roads, highrises and commercial buildings.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/capital_van_isl/story.html?id=6007725e-07f2-4171-8f8e-3eb3b1078057">dispute peaked recently</a> when 60-odd Royal Canadian Mounted Police pounced with dogs and assault rifles to roust six tree-sit demonstrators engaged in a non-violent protest. There were three arrests, and even as the police attack was underway, crews began felling trees for the huge clover-leaf.</p> <p>The reasons given for stopping a road and saving trees are laudable, especially in this time of escalating climate change – to protect First Nations’ sacred ground, to arrest sprawl and to expand transportation options, among others.</p> <p>A few local politicians – federal, provincial and local – have criticized the harsh treatment of the protesters, but none has said anything about stopping the interchange or reining in the growth and development that drive global warming.</p> <p>The interchange site is in Langford, one of a dozen municipalities in B.C.’s capital region. It was Langford’s mayor who inflamed the issue by calling in the <span class="caps">RCMP</span> swat team. Then <a href="http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/story.html?id=4d99fb38-6012-469e-b93f-c13281506971&amp;k=90613">he followed up</a> by instructing municipal lawyers to consider legal action against the penniless protesters.</p> <p>Now, in addition to that pointless expenditure of tax dollars, Langford is borrowing $25 million to fund the bulk of the $32 million projected cost of the interchange!</p> <p>You are what you do, according to the old adage. And what Langford is doing here is abusing taxpayers by subsidizing infrastructure expansion for developers. In a sense, so are the feds, who are ultimately responsible for the hysterical behavior of the <span class="caps">RCMP</span>.</p> <p>Nor should we forget the province, which enjoyed favorable reportage recently for introducing <a href="http://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2008/speech/">a new tax</a> on gasoline and home heating fuel.</p> <p>A new tax, however, isn’t a climate-change plan. Budget documents, for example, show fossil-fuel consumption is expected to rise in the immediate term. Also, provincial subsidies for oil and gas exploration are increasing to more than $300 million this year. So the trough just keeps getting bigger.</p> <p>Stanford entomologist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_R._Ehrlich">Paul Erlich</a> once remarked to me that “Politicians go where they are shoved.” Right now the big shove comes mainly from the corporate elite of big oil and gas, auto manufacturers, and developers.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">That’s how we got into this fix and it’s what’s keeping us there.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/canada">canada</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/603">british columbia</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/849">RCMP</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/913">global warming</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1298">stanford</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1767">Victoria</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2698">Carole Taylor</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2740">first nations</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2795">Langford</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2796">Paul Erlich</a></div></div></div>Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:13:04 +0000Bill Miller2878 at http://www.desmogblog.comCops Contemplate Climate Catastrophehttp://www.desmogblog.com/cops-contemplate-climate-catastrophe
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/images/blog-feature-1284.gif?itok=zUseB2jb" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (<span class="caps">RCMP</span>), a national police force with provincial and municipal responsibilities in many parts of Canada, is looking at having to contend with mass movements of climate refugees, according to an internal document obtained by the <a href="http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=d6573622-192c-4378-9659-f6cad6f98ede&amp;k=34215">Vancouver Sun</a> . </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/602">vancouver sun</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/849">RCMP</a></div></div></div>Tue, 30 Jan 2007 15:46:11 +0000Richard Littlemore1284 at http://www.desmogblog.com